Price Changes

The Maxwell House division of the General Foods Corporation announced yesterday that it was raising wholesale prices of its ground and soluble coffees, effective immediately. In a statement from its headquarters in White Plains, N.Y. General Foods said that the increases average about 6 cents a pound on the division's ground coffees and three‐quarters to one cent an ounce on most sizes of its instant and freeze‐dried coffees.

Other major coffee makers or retailers said either that they had not made up their minds on whether to increase prices or that they would hold the line.

A spokesman for the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company said “we have made no decision as yet.”

Situation Is Studied

Standard Brands, Inc„ which makes Chase & Sanborn coffees, said it was studying the situation and might have an announcement Monday.

The Grand Union Company, which has its own brands but also markets Maxwell House coffees, said it had no plans at present to increase retail coffee prices. Thus, a pound of Maxwell House will continue to cost 89 cents, a 10‐ounce jar of instant Maxwell House will cost $1.85, and the 8‐ounce jar of Maxwell House freeze‐dried 81.89.

A spokesman said that Grand Union bought its coffees in advance in large quantities, and that the company currently had a good supply.

General Foods said that the coffee price increases were the first to be permitted to the Maxwell House division by the Price Commission since early June.

Price Rise Announced

General Foods had announced plans on July 24 to raise prices late in August following a sharp rise in the price of green coffee beans after a frost in Brazil. However, the increases could not be carried out because of a price freeze imposed bythe Price Commission.

In making the announcement, General Foods said that all its increases were justified by costs and were necessitated by increases in the price of green coffee, which had risen nearly 7 cents a pound since early June. Green coffee prices are not controlled by the Price Commission.

The company, which yesterday reported lower earnings in its second fiscal quarter, said that the coffee price freeze was a major negative factor in the company's performance.

In other actions, the Alcoa Conductor Products Company, a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America, said it will raise prices of aluminum building wire by 5 per cent to 7 per cent following other price rises in the industry. The new prices become effective Oct. 30.

The Price Commission announced hi Washington that the Whirlpool Corporation had agreed to “reduce all prices back to base prices and to remit an estimated $3‐million in revenues to its customers.

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports,
and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.